


Metamorphosis

by Silvyavan



Category: Black Torch (Manga)
Genre: Depression, Everyone also needs hugs, Existential Angst, Fluff and Angst, Future Fic, Immortality, Jirou's mom was a mononoke, Loneliness, M/M, Momonoke!Jirou, Touch-Starved, everyone is sad, slight romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 15:54:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12634335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvyavan/pseuds/Silvyavan
Summary: Jirou doesn't know how he managed to get here but it's clearly not changing. If he had been asked, getting turned into a mononoke and ending the war wasn't very high up on his list for the future.Immortality was not as fun as it sounded.





	Metamorphosis

When Jirou looks back in time, all he can do is feel nostalgic. Had he knew that life would turn out this way, this slow and numbing way, he would have never gotten into that fight. Never grabbed his sword and ran into the woods with haste.  
He would have never saved Rago if he knew this was going to be the outcome. Yet he can't bring himself to say it.  
He saw the little differences of what had been happening. The odd scarf and ears when he fought that giant in Hirasaka had meant nothing more than a cool power up at first. Now it's a slap to the face every time he thinks about it. The odd feeling of something running through his fingers when he fought. How Rago's voice and presence seemed to drift away into the back of his mind. Then the memories in the form of dreams came.  
His appearance had started changing too. Hair turning wilder, canines and nales - sharper. His scar had turned black and began spreading.  
Hell, some have even said it straight to his face.  
Yet he ignored. He was such a stubborn child.  
He knew the risks of having a mononoke like Rago possess him was risky. Hell he had even been warned and there were tons of risks that came with it: being targeted by other mononoke, having your every move watched, getting shit from the first devision - to put it shortly, the longer they stayed together, the longer the list became.  
What Jirou hadn't known was that fusing with Rago and becoming some sort of feared creature - he's not human, yet when mononoke look at him all he sees is fear - was closer than he thought.  
The merging had turned him into something...odd. Nobody had ever heard of a mononoke and a human merge. But then again, even back then Jirou wasn't completely human.  
When the first sign of mononoke-ism (he laughs every time he hears it) appeared, he ran to his grandfather. He didn't know why. He just did.  
And then that opened a whole new can of beans. Why he was so different from other humans. Why his real parents weren't around. Why he had canines slightly shared than the average human being.  
He realized he couldn't go back. Not after hearing that.  
His father - a traitor. His mother - a fool who fell in love.  
He was a half breed. An unheard abomination between human and mononoke. No wonder most of them looked at him in pity and disgust back in the day. Too dangerous to be around humans, too weak to be accepted by mononoke.  
Jiro started putting pieces together. His grandpa didn't want him getting hurt in the war - he wanted him to be free without the bonds of the second division looming over him. Kouga wasn't calling his father a bastard just to grate his nerves - he called him that because he took away one of their own. He didn't have a skill nobody else had - he had a skill nobody else knew of.  
He wasn't fusing with Rago - he was absorbing him. It made him feel sick. He saved his friend, only to put him into an even worse predicament. One you couldn't get out of.  
He then turned mad. Well, temporarily. He went on a rampage to say the least.  
How he found the headquarters of the enemy, he doesn't know.  
How he managed to kill every single one of them and walking out without a single trace of blood, he doesn't care.  
How he managed to kill Amagi and then wake up somewhere else, he doesn't remember.  
That had been the single most stressful and trauma filled week in his whole life. First day he had found out he was turning into a mononoke. Second day his grandpa gave him an existential crisis. Third and fourth day he slaughtered the enemy. Fifth day he realized that he had the ability to absorb mononoke. Sixth day he gets himself caught by the first division.  
The seventh day, he really can't remember. He remembers someone crying. His mind has pushed it into the back of his conciousness.  
He was deemed incredibly dangerous by the council, but they still wanted him on his side. Somehow.  
Yet, with the talk of his deeds and new powers spreading at a terribly rapid pace, mononoke began to try and merge with the human population. Taking up jobs where people need to be get rid of such as hitmen assassins and mercenaries. Opening up weird voodoo or spiritual clensing shops as a way to still be able to use their powers. Starting to avoid standing out. Some had even started churches.  
The order, as it turns out, was just as confused as they were pleased. They started this war with blood, they hadn't expected mononoke to end it in peace.  
Eventually, they disbanded - they had to, unless they wanted to be framed of terrorism - and Jirou was left as a neutral faction. But then what happened to the rest?  
Reiji started using his clan's swordmanship as a way to open up a dojo, eventually becoming famous for giving out prodigies.  
Shiba went into retirement, saying he never expected to have the war end in his life time, so he might as well use his pension funds to finally live his life. Jirou got a slap on his head when he called him old. Being semi immortal was not something Shiba appreciated.  
Ichika used her family's wealth to kickstart her own business. The whole thing turned out incredibly successful yet time management was a must. Haru became her secretary and more ideas of expansion came with her. She had invited him, Reiji, Shiba. Even Touko and Fuyou were invited to the grand party where they announced that they were going international.  
Looking back, Jirou treasures those peaceful moments.  
But it was centuries ago. Time had passed. Humanity progressed. Mononoke were still in hiding, afraid of him for some reason. His friends and family had passed. It wasn't even a full century before they parted ways for good.  
It wasn't even a full century before his humanity began shrinking ever so deeply. His ears had stretched and morphed into cat ears. Hands were starting to turn into inky black claws. A vicious tail had sprouted from his back one morning. Fuyou had teased him endlessly.  
Very few mononoke had approached him at their own will. Only the closest ones like Fuyou, who was considered crazy even after centuries of knowing him, had been there as time progressed. She was one of the first to know about his transformation and soon enough became the closest thing to physical therapy that didn't include hitting every single annoying idiot in the face.  
But now what? Jirou kept asking himself. He had the idea of searching for his parents, but one existential crisis was enough for him. He wondered if he could start a business but he didn't really feel like going into that.  
Fuyou had disappeared about a while ago, calling him over the phone saying that someone thought she was an orphan and adopted her. She didn't want to say something that stood off, so she just let it happen. She said she might dissappear in two or three by faking her death.  
Jirou was alone. Somehow.  
Sitting atop a sky scraper, he looked over the busy streets of Tokyo. Still as busy as ever, even with the advanced technology they now had.  
A few steps on the metal roof had given him the idea that someone was there. Twisting his head, he looked at the newcomer.  
Kouga. He had seen him a handful of times over the years, but he kept looking more and more miserable than before. He had warned him, blamed him for Rago's slow and time consuming death, going as far as spilling tears. Yet they haven't fought for years. He would have expected him to straight up track him down and commit homicide when he had gotten the news.  
Maybe he's here to finally rid him of his misery?  
"That little girl has been hanging around humans. Going to their fucking schools. You know of this?"  
"Yeah. She told me."  
"And you're not mad about it?!" Kouga sounded angry about it.  
"Why should I be?"  
"She's practically your daughter or your sister. She jokes around with you. She hangs out with you like it's no big deal -" Jirou cut him off, standing up from the ledge and waking to Kouga. He kept his hair, but the clothes were replaced by something sort of a futuristic jacket, metal parts and all. Those green eyes held surprise and a vague show of loneliness. Walking towards him, he makes no move but he tenses with every step.  
"So my company isn't welcome among others anymore? Great. Thanks for feeding the nihilism. " Jirou sounded sleepy and, considering how late it is, he is.  
"What?! No- It's just- she's always wherever you are. It's kind of a thing now so her being away from you is kinda-"  
"Unsettling?"  
"Bingo."  
"Something tells me that's not what you're here for." Jirou said. He was pretty tired, kind of cold and wanted nothing more than to into a depot store and sleep on their beds. He turns to leave but Kouga grasps his hand before Jirou could even make a step.  
"Wait." Kouga looks straight into his eyes. His face moves closer . His lips brush against his cheek. He pulls him closer to him, his other arm wrapping around his waist. He leans into his ears. Jiro thinks he should push him away, but he's too touch starved. Instead, he wraps his arms around in a lazy hug. Kouga's voice quivers. "Stay. With me. Please."  
Jirou's mind rakes as the minutes go by.  
"Why? Why me?"  
"Rago used to be my goal. He would have been everything I had. The only thing I had." He buries his face into the crook of his neck. "Now, you're him. Yet not."  
"So?" Kouga groans. He probably thinks Jirou has the brain of a log, because no one else could be this thick skulled.  
"If I tell you that there's better things to do with me that doesn't include being a depressive sandwich of horror, would you spend eternity with me?" Kouga lowers his voice at the last part but Jirou knows what he means. For once, he smiles.  
"Sure, I've got time to kill."


End file.
